Milton Keynes well prepared to come out of recession

With the recession “officially” easing, respected think-tank Centre for Cities has named Milton Keynes as “one to watch” alongside Brighton, Reading, Cambridge and Edinburgh as cities likely to prosper.

The report said the cities had “the right ingredients to succeed”, and out of 64 cities surveyed, Milton Keynes was ranked at the very top for its growth of employment opportunities, with an 8.3 per cent increase from 130,700 in 2006 to 139,000 in 2008, against a National increase of 1.2 per cent over the same period.

The city also boasted the second highest rates of adult employment in 2009, with 80.2 per cent of working aged residents in jobs.

The think-tank ranked Milton Keynes in ninth place in their Economic Prosperity Index.

City leaders have welcomed the report. Cllr Jenni Ferrans, cabinet member with responsibility for the economy, said: “We have always had unshaken faith that Milton Keynes could ride out the recession and these figures from Centre for Cities confirm that.

“One of the key strengths we have is partnership working – with the council, Milton Keynes Partnership, MKELP working closely together and cutting through red tape to get things moving very quickly. This means when the recession hit we were able to use existing resources and relationships rather than spending time setting up new ones.

“In these tight times we are not only ‘weathering the storm’ – we have been able to shake off the inertia of the credit crunch to make headway and positive gains.”